


Heather Chandler and the Case of the Trench Coat killer

by EdgyWombat



Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Based on Heathers, F/F, Homophobic Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23492023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdgyWombat/pseuds/EdgyWombat
Summary: A Heathers AU set in a victorian style city where Heather Chandler works as a detective.                                                       When Veronica Sawyer comes to her with a seemingly innocent case things soon get serious.This is a work in progress and will continue to be updated
Relationships: Heather Chandler/Veronica Sawyer, Heather Duke/Heather McNamara
Comments: 10
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

“I hope goats have accents,” said Heather Chandler, her words slurred. It was late at night and Heather was nearly unconscious from the amount she’d been drinking “I’m sure you do darling,” said the bartender, Heather Duke. She hoisted Chandlers arm over her shoulder and started pulling her up the stairs to where Chandler rented a room. In hindsight, letting a depressed PI move in above a bar probably wasn’t the best idea.  
“Seriously though, what if… what if a French goat meets a Russian goat, and, and the Russian goat needs… thing… to eat… food! Thassit. And the German goat can’t show it the food because they can’t understand each other. That would be sad,” “I think you’ve had way too much to drink,” Duke said coldly as they reached the top of the stairs (Chandler still muttering about goats).

Duke slumped Chandler against the wall while she unlocked the door with her keys before walking Heather into her room. with one final heave, Duke let Chandler fall heavily onto the cheap bed which let out a groan of protest before settling down. Chandler, now barely awake muttered a few words under her breath before she finally slipped into the peaceful abyss of sleep. Looking down at her, Heather Duke wiped her forehead with a dirty cloth before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

It was the middle of the night and he was leaving, again. Veronica silently crept out of bed to the window and looked out into the dimly lit street. On the other side of the road she could see her husband, Jason Dean, walking away from the house. This had been going on for a couple about a week now and as you would, she was constantly worrying about why it was happening.

Their relationship had gotten off to an extremely rocky start, what with Jason almost committing suicide and then finally getting over his drug problems, but Veronica had stuck with him and after a few years of everything going smoothly they’d gotten married and everything had begun to settle down. JD’s parents were pretty wealthy and after they’d died he inherited a decent amount of money and gave Veronica everything she could ever want and for a while she was happy. She had a good life and a loving husband, but then this had started. She didn’t know exactly how long it had been happening but one night he woke her up while leaving, and since then he’d been leaving almost every single night. After a while she decided to try and follow him but after a while he seemed to just disappear into the darkness. She tried this a few times, each with the same result. She had no idea where he was going but she knew that if she didn’t find out then their relationship was going to steadily go downhill and end and although it had been hard in the past, she didn’t want that. Veronica slowly crept back to bed while she blinked her eyes, trying to prevent the tears that she could feel welling up inside of her. The next morning he was back in bed with her, as he was every night. Sighing, she got up while he was still asleep and looked in the mirror. Her brown hair was messy and she roughly dragged a brush through it before giving up on a lost cause. She shook her head in despair before pulling on a fresh set of clothes and going downstairs to eat breakfast She was halfway through her meal and had made a plate for JD as well when he came down the stairs to in theory join her. He was wearing a black suit and his dark greasy hair was neatly brushed.

“Morning babe,” He said bending down to kiss Veronica’s forehead. Noticing the plate of food Veronica had laid out for him, he sighed and said “Ronnie, I’ve got an early meeting today, I can’t eat this. Thanks for the thought though,”  
“Oh, OK, that’s fine. I guess I’ll see you later then?”  
“Yes, definitely,” JD said as he grabbed his coat from where it hung on the wall while saying “Do you have any plans today?” “Yeah. I’m planning on meeting Heather today,”  
“Good, good,” JD muttered, not having heard a word she’d said. “I have to go now but I’ll see you later,” And with that he promptly left, locking the door behind him. 

After he left, Veronica finished her breakfast while thinking, she hadn’t planned to go and meet Heather despite that being what she'd told JD (She always told JD that she was doing something, it stopped him worrying) but maybe she should go and then she could tell her what was happening with JD. She smiled to herself before clearing up the plates and dumping them into the kitchen sink, washing them was a problem for future Veronica. She walked to the front door, pulled on her blue felt jacket and slipped on black flats before leaving the house. Once she was outside she hailed down a taxi and gave him directions to where she wanted to go. Driving through the busy city was not a fun experience, especially when the jolly taxi driver kept trying to make small talk with her but once she’d finally arrived, she jogged towards and knocked on the door to a massive house with the type of exterior décor that signalled that it belonged to someone of the upper crust. After a moment the door was opened by Heather’s butler, a thin man in a suit with slicked back hair. 

“Ah. Mrs Dean,” The butler said with a sigh. “How good to see you this early in the morning, do come in just make sure to wipe your feet,” He stood aside to let Veronica in before leading her through the main hall and into the living room.  
“Please wait in here,” He said, still standing in the doorway “Miss McNamara currently has a visitor but I’m sure she’ll be with you shortly,” 

Veronica smiled and nodded as he closed the door before gazing around the room. The walls were decorated with a cream wallpaper and portraits of McNamara’s ancestors and on one side of the room there was a huge fireplace that had a small ring of three armchairs around it, along with a small table on which lay an expensive looking set of china on it and a sofa.

Having nothing to do, Veronica sat down in one of the chairs and after a few minutes of waiting the double doors into the living room burst open and Heather McNamara strutted with the butler and another man following her in.

“Heather. It’s been months now. Who are you going to choose? Me or Kurt?” complained the man who had followed her in. The man who had followed her in was conventionally attractive with a chiseled jawline and bright blue eyes, and was wearing a suit with a red tie and a top hat and seemed to be pestering McNamara. “Ram I’ve told you this many times before. I need more time. It’s a big decision,” McNamara said through gritted teeth before gesturing to the butler.  
“Finn, would you please escort Ram out of the building,” 

Finn, the butler, nodded and tried to take Ram’s arm to lead him out of the building but Ram shook him off and marched out himself with Finn following close behind. McNamara sighed as she watched them leave before sitting down opposite Veronica and starting to put her blonde curly hair into a ponytail. “Hi Veronica, I'm sorry about that,” She muttered “Thank you for giving me an excuse to get rid of him though. He’s been pestering me every morning for the past month,” she said rolling her eyes.  
“Sounds like hell,” Veronica said with a grimace. “I- I’m sorry that I’m here so early but there’s…” Veronica took a deep breath “There’s something I really need to talk about,” “Yes? What is it?”  
Veronica paused for a moment. She had planned to tell her everything but now that she was here, should she? No, she needed to tell her, if she didn’t it’d only get worse. “It’s JD,” She said quietly.  
“What? Is everything OK?”  
“No. No it’s not,” Veronica said, choking the tears back before letting it all out and telling her everything, that JD was sneaking out, how long it’d been going on for and the fact that every time she tried to follow, he just seemed to disappear.

McNamara stayed silent after Veronica had finished.  
“So? What do I do?” Veronica asked nervously as she dried her eyes after not receiving an immediate response “Well… maybe you should confront him about it?”  
“No,” Veronica said bluntly. “Why not?”  
“Just, because…” Veronica sighed “I know why I can’t do that I just don’t know how to explain,”  
“No, I kind of get that,” McNamara looked at her hands thoughtfully. “I don’t really know what to suggest though…,” “What is it?” Veronica asked, sensing that there was something that she wasn't saying.

McNamara sighed. “I have a friend. Her name is Heather Chandler and she’s a PI. She’s not the easiest to work with and it might seem a bit extreme of a solution but she’s good at what she does and she doesn’t ask for too much money. She could investigate him for you. Find out whether he’s cheating on you or whether he has a good reason for it” 

Veronica's face dropped at the thought of her husband cheating on her “That does sound like a good idea,” She said quietly. “But do you think she’d do any better than me?” “Well. If she doesn’t solve it she won’t take the money. She very stubborn that way,”  
“OK then,” Veronica said after a moment of thought “Do you think you could introduce us? Today if possible, I don’t want this to have to go on for any longer than it already has” “Definitely," McNamara said as she stood up from her chair "It’ll beat making excuses to Ram all day,”

“That piece of shit still bothering you then?” Veronica said in a vain attempt to make the conversation about someone other than her. McNamara had said to Kurt and Ram, Two sons of rich businessmen, that she would court one of them. That was nine months ago and they were still waiting for an answer. “Please do not use profane language under my roof,” McNamara said, glaring at her. “But yes. He is,” McNamara straightened out her clothes. “Give me a few minutes to get ready then we can leave,” 

Veronica smiled at her as she left the room and while she waited, Finn the butler bought her a cup of coffee. She thanked him and he gave her a tight smile. Once McNamara had styled her hair and put on makeup and Veronica had finished her coffee, they left the house and Finn drove them through the city in McNamara's car until they arrived at a bar on the corner of a grimy street. 

The car stopped outside of the bar and McNamara opened the door to step out into the city. Veronica followed her out only to hear McNamara mutter about how the muck from the street was going to ruin her dress. Allowing a smile to cross her face, Veronica looked down the empty street and then up at the bar. She was surprised to see a very well kept building with a sign hanging over the door that had a picture of a green croquet mallet on it and the words The Croquet Mallet. 

Veronica walked closer to the door to peer into the dark room but instead saw a small piece of paper stuck to the glass reading, Heather Chandler’s Detective Agency. She frowned as she saw a small hand scribbled note written below it saying, Some detective agency this is! 

“You ready?” McNamara said, walking up behind Veronica and snapping her out of her thoughts.  
“Yeah,” Veronica said as she pushed the door open and together they walked into the dimly lit bar. Inside there were a few people sitting at tables in corners and a Korean woman tending the bar. She looked up at them when they entered and seeming surprised to see them, she glanced around at the few people in the bar before swiftly walking over to McNamara and Veronica.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed at McNamara. “And who’s this?” “This is Veronica, she’s a friend,” McNamara glanced at Veronica “Veronica this is Heather. Heather Duke,” She turned back to Duke “Duke she’s here to see Chandler,” “Oh, OK then,” Duke let out a sigh of what seemed to be relief and although she still looked worried she now tried to hide it under a stern glare. “You know where she is. Upstairs, first door on the left,” Duke turned around and promptly walked back to the bar. 

Veronica glanced at McNamara quizzically, hoping for an explanation of Duke's somewhat strange behavior only for her to ignore her and walk up the stairs, Veronica close behind. “So how do you know Chandler? And Duke?" Veronica asked.  
“Oh Chandler was a childhood friend who I put up for a while after her parents died, leaving her with nowhere to live. Then I met Duke through Kurt and Ram,” McNamara paused for a second before continuing “They drink here a lot. When a room became available above the bar I suggested that Chandler stayed here. She’s been here for just over a year now and has been working as a PI for even longer than that,”

“Well now I know three Heather's,” Veronica chuckled. “Duke seemed very surprised to see you here,”  
An unidentifiable streak of emotion crossed McNamara’s face. “Well I don’t come here often and I doubt she’s used to,” She paused. “Aristocrats coming into her bar,” “You’d think she’d be used to slightly more aristocratic people with people like Kurt and Ram coming regularly,”  
“Yeah. I guess so but she isn’t so…”

They reached the door which had the words Heather Chandler, Private Investigator written on it and McNamara knocked. “Chandler!” She yelled “It’s me. Heather!”  
There was a groan from behind the door, the sound of bottles clinking and something heavy hitting the floor from the other side of the door. “Which one?” came a voice. “McNamara,”

A grunt came from the door followed by heavy footsteps and finally Heather Chandler opened the door. She had long strawberry blonde hair that was pulled up into a ponytail with a red ribbon and was wearing a white stained button up shirt and rough canvas trousers and was leaning on the door frame with a tired expression on her face. She nodded at Heather before glancing at Veronica and asking “Who’s the chick in the blue?” 

“I’m Veronica,” said Veronica, stepping forward and extending her hand to Heather. “I need your help with something,”  
“A case?” Chandler groaned. “I guess you should come inside then,” 

They stepped inside of the room. Unlike the rest of the bar this room was in dire condition. The window was boarded up and the wallpaper was beginning to peel from the walls. There were empty bottles strewn across the room and an unmade bed in the corner. McNamara sat down primly in an armchair while Chandler beckoned Veronica over to a desk where they sat opposite to each other.

“So, what’s the problem,” Chandler asked while pouring vodka into a shot glass. “You want some?” She said, noticing Veronica staring. “Um, no thanks,” Veronica replied. She glanced over to McNamara who was gazing around the room with a disappointed look. 

Looking back at Chandler she continued. “You see the thing is my husband JD. He’s been sneaking out of the house every night for the past week, maybe more. I’ve tried following him but he always disappears,” “OK then?” said Chandler, downing the shot and pouring herself another one. “So all you need me to follow him and find out what the fuck he’s doing? Seems simple enough,” “Y-Yes. That’s basically what I need,”  
“Alright then. I just some more information on the individual and then I believe I can get started,” 

Chandler downed the second shot before putting the glasses aside and bringing out a notebook.  
Veronica nodded and started telling her more information about JD while McNamara watched them both and absentmindedly twiddled her thumbs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does contain degrading and homophobic language as well as domestic violence. just thought I should warn anyone who's reading

”So you’ll tell me everything that happens?” Mac asked. She was standing in her doorway talking to Veronica who was standing on the threshold of the house, trying to leave. “Yes Heather, of course I will-,”  
“First thing tomorrow?”  
“Yes, first thing tomorrow as soon as I get back from Chandler’s,” Veronica said. She and Chandler had agreed that tonight, Chandler would camp outside of Veronica’s house and follow JD when he left before rendezvousing at the bar the next morning. 

“Right now I need to go, though,” Veronica said firmly  
“Yes of course, I understand,” Mac said with an anxious smile.  
“OK bye-,” Veronica said, turning to leave before being pulled into a hug by McNamara,  
“I hope it all goes OK,” McNamara said before letting go of Veronica. “OK, I’ll see you tomorrow,”  
“Yes, you will,” Veronica said as she wave goodbye before turning around and leaving.

McNamara sighed and closed the door before calling out “Finn! Can I please get a cup of tea?” and walking into the living room where she sat down on one of the armchairs. It’d been an early start that morning for McNamara, what with Ram showing up to complain much earlier than she would ever want to wake up and within seconds, thanks to factors out of her control, she was asleep 

“Miss McNamara?” a voice said, stirring McNamara out of her slumber  
“Yes?” She said sleepily as she opened her eyes to see Finn looking down at her with a concerned expression. “Finn? How long have I been asleep?”  
“I came in to give you your tea and you were unconscious,” he said, gesturing to the cup of, now cold, tea that was sitting on the table next to the chair. “I didn’t want to wake you but you have another visitor,”  
“Another?” She said as she rubbing her eyes “Who is it?” “Your father Ma’am,” 

McNamara sat bolt upright in a small panic, brushed her hair out of her face and straightened her clothing. “Finn, what’s he doing here?” “He says he wants to talk to you,” McNamara groaned inwardly. “OK then. Bring him in,” 

Finn nodded and left for a moment before returning and ushering Mr McNamara, a tall man with hair akin to his daughters only shorter and a pair of square spectacles into the living room before going to get them both cups of tea and leaving them to talk. 

“So Dad…” McNamara said nervously “Why is it that you’re here?” McNamara had a complicated relationship with her father. On one hand, he had supplied her with this house and her lavish lifestyle but on the other he ignored her most of the time, leaving Finn to do most of the work in raising her when she was a child. 

“Well,” Mr McNamara cleared his throat. “Heather. There’s something I need to talk to you about,”  
“Yes?” McNamara said as Finn returned with two cups of tea that he set down next to each of them. “Thank you Finn,” She said, taking a sip of her tea  
“I understand that you are currently courting someone,” Mr McNamara said, completely ignoring Finn’s arrival 

Heather froze, her heart was pounding but she managed to force out an answer anyway.  
“Do you mean Ram?” She asked. “I thought I told you, I need more time to choose between him or Kurt,” “No,” He glared at her “I’m just going to be blunt with you, I mean that slut from the bar,” 

McNamara was stunned but there was no way to escape this now. “How do you know about her?” She asked with a shaky voice  
Mr McNamara laughed coldly “Dear god heather do you think I’m completely naïve? I know you went to that bar with Kurt and Ram, I know you saw a beautiful woman who you just couldn’t get out of your mind could you!?” Mr McNamara was shouting now and he stood up to tower above her. “I know that you met up with her again in secret and that you two slowly fell in love. If that’s what you even call what you have with that bitch. It’s sick! Two women cannot be together and neither can two men,” Mr McNamara took a deep breath to calm himself. “Think about what this will do to me Heather, I’m running for mayor. Think about what’ll happen if people find out that I’ve got a dyke for a daughter,” A disgusted look crossed his face. As if the word dyke made him want to throw up. “My career would be over,” 

“Dad,” Heather said her eyes beginning to fill with tears “Y-you don’t understand. I love Heather and she loves me. If she was a man you wouldn’t have a problem, why should it be any different when it’s a woman?” 

“Her name’s Heather? She’s even got the same name as you. Pathetic,”  
“But Dad-,”  
“Shut up!” Mr McNamara said as he raised his hand threateningly. “Don’t say another word!  
“B-,” McNamara was cut off by him slapping her face.  
She started sobbing and began to curl up in a ball to try and protect herself.  
“You are going to stop seeing that dumb whore or its going to end badly for you and the bitch that you call a girlfriend,” Mr McNamara growled. 

McNamara watched as he left through the doors through her tear soaked hair before brushing her hair out of her eyes and trying to regain her posture. She didn’t want Finn to see her like this but as Finn walked round the corner into the living with a confused expression only to see her trembling expression, come rushing over and for her to jump up and wrap her arms around his neck before sobbing into his shoulder. 

“Miss? What’s wrong,” he asked as he wrapped his arms around McNamara “I heard shouting and then I saw your father leaving. What happened? Are you ok?” McNamara pulled away slightly and looked up at him, tears still spilling from her eyes,  
“He said I can’t see her again Finn. I love her but I can’t see her again he says that If I do then He’ll hurt her,” McNamara said, sobbing into Finn’s shoulder “I need to go see her,” She said pulling away from him. “She needs to know what happened,” “Miss, are you sure that that’s a good idea?” “Finn, what else is there that I can do?” 

Veronica looked out of the window as JD climbed into bed. On the other side of the road she could see a pile of mouldy blankets that showed that Chandler had taken up her position, hiding as a tramp in the hope that she would go unnoticed. It was a risky plan but chandler assured her that it had worked before though Veronica somewhat doubted the truthfulness of that statement. 

“You coming to bed honey?” Came JD’s voice from behind her Veronica turned around and fake smiled “Yeah babe. I’m coming,” she said before walking around to the opposite side of the bed and climbing in next to her husband. 

“Love you,” He said, kissing her cheek and then settling down to go to sleep. “Love you too,” Veronica said quietly. 

As she lay in bed she thought about the day she’d had. She hoped that she was going to figure out what was going on with her husband and then everything could settle down and just go back to the way it was. 

Veronica closed her eyes and turned over in bed. And thanks to this case Heather Chandler can hopefully get back on her feet. That woman definitely needs to stop drinking she thought to herself. 

After a few minutes of lying in bed, Veronica was still awake. Her thoughts kept on looping back to Heather Chandler and she got up, frowning to herself, and stumbled through the dark room to look out the window, where Chandler was waiting in her blankets. 

Shaking her head she turned around and went back to bed, trying to force herself to stop thinking about Heather but after about half an hour of tossing and turning in bed, Veronica finally got up, put on a dressing gown, and walked down to the kitchen. She boiled a kettle of water which she poured into two cups before adding tea bags to make and putting them onto a tray. 

Putting on a pair of shoes and her jacket over the dressing gown, she walked outside with the tray over to where Chandler was lying, awake, waiting for JD.  
As Veronica approached her, Heather sat up and frowned at her. 

“What are you doing out here?” She asked as she raised the blankets when Veronica so that Veronica could fit under.  
“I just thought you might be cold, so I bought some hot tea,” Veronica replied, sitting down next to Chandler under the blankets 

“You really shouldn’t be out here. What if he sees you?”  
“Don’t worry about it. I just wanted to make sure that you’re OK that’s all,” Veronica held out the cup “Now do you want the tea or not?”  
Chandler stared at her for a moment before taking the cup “Thanks. I’ve had much worse nights than this but it’s definitely appreciated,” Chandler reached into the blanket and pulled out a small hip flask. “Brandy?” 

Veronica shook her head causing Chandler to shrug “Suit yourself,” she said and poured some into her mug.  
“You do know you shouldn’t drink as much as you do. It’s really bad for your health,” Veronica said with genuine concern.  
Chandler looked her dead in the eye and took a huge swig. “Stop me,” She said menacingly. 

Veronica looked away, her cheeks turning red. “So… How did you become a PI?” she asked, looking at Heather out the corner of her eye.  
“Well it all started when my parents died,” Heather took a sip of the brandy infused tea.  
“I- I’m sorry. I didn’t know,”  
“Eh. It’s fine. It was a long time ago anyway,” Chandler looked up at the night sky. 

“My parents were extremely wealthy and because of that my life was amazing, I had everything I’d ever wanted. Fabulous clothes, staff waiting on me 24/7, a massive house and every boy wanted me to be their wife,” She took another sip from her cup. “Then they were found dead in an alleyway. Their throats slit,” Chandler sighed and looked over at Veronica, “The police investigated for some time but eventually the case went cold and then the reading of the will came. All the money, every single penny of it, went to one man who was a close friend of my father’s and naturally, I was kinda suspicious. I mean my father and I had talked about my inheritance before and he’d always referred to me as the sole proprietor, so I began to investigate him for myself and eventually I found out that he was working for one of the biggest gang leaders in the city and my parents had been roped into some shady shit after a close call with bankruptcy that they never told me about. My father had tried to get away from them and it ended in them forcing him to change his will or they would have hurt me and then they just killed him anyway,” She took a deep breath to try and banish the hint of anger and sadness in her voice. “The police didn’t believe me at first. To them I was just a spoiled rich girl who was grasping at strings and by the time I managed to convince the police that I was onto something the money was long gone. They managed to arrest some of the leading members but most of them escaped and not long after that the house was burnt down and there were multiple attempts on my life. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my father teaching me how to defend myself,” She said with a small chuckle before noticing Veronica’s horrified expression. “What? There isn’t any use in feeling sad about any of this,” She said causing Veronica to shrug slightly and still continue to look mildly horrified.  
“Anyway eventually they decided I wasn’t worth the effort and I was left to my own devices,” Chandler continued I thought about joining the cops but I can’t stand the police captain. Captain Flemming, she’s a bitch. So I decided to investigate crime myself,” “Wow. That’s quite a story,” Veronica said quietly.  
“Yeah. Sorry for dumping all of that on you,”  
“It’s fine,” Veronica frowned, “How did you afford a PI license if you had no money?” “Oh I don’t have one of those,”  
“What? So everything you do is illegal?”  
“Kind of, if anyone asks me for my licence then I just act bitchy until they leave me alone. Works like a charm,” Chandler said a she sipped her tea  
Veronica let out an exasperated sigh. “If you do this for me then I am definitely paying for you to get a license,” 

Chandler shrugged, indicating that she couldn’t care less whether she had a license or not.  
“You should get back inside. Like I said, If he wakes up and see’s that you’re not there then he’ll know that something’s up,” “Yeah” Veronica said “You’re right,” 

She smiled and got up to go back inside.  
“Hey Veronica?” Veronica turned around. “Yes?”  
“Thanks for the tea,” Chandler smiled at her.  
“Oh um, you’re welcome,” Veronica said before turning around and quickly walked back to the house, leaving Chandler alone outside. 

Veronica entered the house and locked the door behind her before tidying the kitchen almost silently and then creeping back in between the blankets where JD was still asleep and this time, as she closed her eyes, she was asleep within minutes. 

Shortly after Veronica had returned to bed, JD woke up thanks to some sort of internal alarm clock and just as Veronica had mere minutes before, he crept out of bed, silently got dressed and walked down the stairs and out the front door into the city air.  
Chandler looked up as soon as he left the house and tried her best not to react as he looked over at her and began to approach her. 

A million thoughts raced through Chandlers head as he got closer and she almost let out a sigh of relief when he lay a ten dollar note in the folds of her blankets before turning around and walking around the corner. 

As soon as he was gone, Chandler stood up and snatched the note up to shove into her pocket, maybe he wasn’t all bad and besides, it was good to know that the disguise worked. It was a new idea and she’d never tried it before, despite what she’d said to Veronica.

She took a moment to dig around in her blankets before pulling out and putting on a battered fedora that had been hidden with her in the blankets as well as pulling on a red suit jacket and checking that as usual, her pistol was securely inside its holster on her waist and that it was fully loaded. 

Looking around to make sure no one had seen her, she ran round the corner to chase after JD and shivered as the night winds hit her. She followed him through the back alleys of the city for about half an hour, always keeping out of sight, when they finally arrived at a familiar location. 

Letting out a confused breath, she realized that JD had stopped outside of The Croquet Mallet. She'd drunk here every night for the past year and she didn’t think that she’d ever seen him here before. 

Glancing out from behind the wall that she was taking cover behind, Chandler could see him faintly illuminated by the yellow glow from the windows as he raised a cigarette to his lips, lit it and then walked inside


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to add this when I first posted it but there's an attempted rape scene in this chapter.

It had been a rough night for Duke and in all honesty, she wanted it to end. People were being bitchy and not obeying the bar’s rules but at least she didn’t have to worry about what Chandler was doing, which was a nice change from usual. 

“Hey dickhead!” She yelled at someone who’d just entered the bar. “No smoking in here,” She pointed aggressively at a no smoking sign. “I’m dreadfully sorry,” he said smoothly with a smile on his face “I didn’t notice the sign,” “Yeah well don’t do it again,” She glared at him as he sauntered over.  
“I’ll try my best,” He said as he leant up against the bar. “Would it be too much to ask if I could please order a pint of cider, my fair lady?” He said before he placed the appropriate amount money on the bar top. 

Duke looked him up and down before taking the money. He was a tall lanky man wearing a deep black trench coat with greasy hair and a wedding ring on his hand. “Yes,” She said coldly. “But never call me that again unless you want your kneecaps shattered,” she said in a warning tone as she poured the drink before placing it in front of him on the bar. 

The man raised his hands in mock surrender “Point taken,” he said before taking the drink and walking away to sit in the corner.  
“Stupid bitch boy,” Duke muttered under her breath before hearing the bell above the door ring and looked up with despair as the door burst open and Kurt and Ram entered 

“Bartender! We’ll have two beers with more to come!” Kurt yelled as he stood dramatically in the doorway with Ram at his side.  
“Kurt, you know my name and if you want to order then you can come and do it politely at the bar,” 

As arrogant as Kurt and Ram were, even they knew better than to argue with Heather Duke as everyone knew that she had a steel capped croquet mallet behind the bar that she used to deal with rowdy customers. 

They approached the bar, almost meekly, and took their drinks before going to sit at their regular table.  
Feeling the need to take a breather, Duke told one of the employees to take over the bar and walked through the door behind the bar and into the backroom with the intent of escaping into the back alley for a cigarette. Closing the door quietly behind her she turned around to see Chandler entering through the door on the other side of the room and McNamara standing in between the two of them, looking slightly panicked 

“What the fuck are you two doing in here?” she hissed “Chandler you’re supposed to be working on Veronica’s case and Mac? Why are you doing here?” "I'm here for the case," Chandler said before glancing at McNamara. "Mac, why are you here?" McNamara looked between the two of them, her eye’s wide, “Duke, I- I need to talk to you about…,” She glanced over at Chandler “Something,” “What? Mac, are you OK?” Chandler asked, clearly confused. Not getting a response from McNamara, she looked over at Duke “What’s going on?” 

Duke groaned internally but tried her best to keep a neutral expression. This was not what she needed right now “Heather I need to talk to Mac alone right now, can we talk later?”  
Chandler stared at her for a moment, apparently lost in thought “Is this about you two dating?” 

They both stared at Chandler, confused. “How do you know about that?” Duke said quietly. “Well in all seriousness it doesn’t take a detective to figure it out and if I’m being truthful? You severely underestimate how soundproof the walls are-,”  
Duke sighed angrily “Yes we get the picture, what we want to know is, do you have a problem with it?” She glared at Chandler with rage that was clearly about to boil over the top, but this time there was vulnerability, fear, mixed in. 

“No, of course I don’t have a problem with it! You two are my friends and I admire how brave you are if I’m being honest, I wish I could be like that,” Chandler looked between McNamara and Duke “But judging the room, it seems like it’d probably better if I leave though. I’m only going through the back entrance because I saw Veronica’s husband come in here which is a mystery in its own right,” 

“You’re investigating someone in the bar?” Duke inquired before shaking her head. “No, never mind. I’ve got more important things right now,“ Yeah, I’ll leave then,” Chandler said awkwardly as she edged past them before slipping out of the room. 

After she’d left Duke took McNamara’s hands and sat them both down next against a cabinet. “So I know that it’s to do with us but I need to know, is it something I’ve done?” She asked her voice soft McNamara shook her head. “OK. So what is it then?”  
McNamara took a shaky breath. “He found out. My Dad. I don’t even know how but he threatened to- he threatened to hurt you,” McNamara chocked back a sob. “He said that he’d hurt me?” Duke was trying not to show it but that sentence scared her. McNamara’s father held a lot of power and she most certainly didn’t trust him to abide by the law. “Why did he say that?”  
“He says that if people find out that he’s got a-,” McNamara’s voice wavered and Duke wrapped her arm around her shoulders to try and comfort her s McNamara continued. “-A dyke for a daughter, then it’ll ruin his career and his chances at being mayor,” She took a shaky breath. “He hasn’t been the best father ever but I still love him. Is that messed up? It might be but I guess the thing is that I don’t want to feel like I’m the one who ruined this for him but he says that I can’t love a girl and that if I keep seeing you then he’ll hurt you and we can’t go to the police because they don’t care about people in our situation and-,” 

“Heather stop, you’re panicking, OK?” Duke shuffled around so that she was sitting in front of McNamara “Listen to me,” she said firmly “I- I know that I’m not the best at showing how I feel but I love you. I love you so much and I want to spend my life with you and I’m not going to let this intolerant prick ruin that for us OK? Now I don’t know exactly what we’re going to do in this situation but I’m sure we’ll figure something out. I mean we could run away? Go to a small town and start over but I know you wouldn’t want to do that. You like to face your problems head on, I admire that about you. I’m a coward. I run from my problems,” 

McNamara let out a quiet laugh as she dried her eyes “You’re not a coward Duke. It takes a lot of courage to admit feelings like that,” McNamara smiled at her with tears still in her eyes and said. “I love you too and I feel exactly the same way but I know you don’t want to leave. You love this bar and Chandler’s your friend just like Veronica’s mine and I don’t want to just abandon them. We’ll find a way around this and we’ll do it together,” McNamara leaned forward and pulled Duke into a tight hug. 

Suddenly Chandler stumbled through the door. “Duke?” She said. Her forehead was bleeding and she looked slightly dazed “Heather? What happened,” Said Duke as she quickly jumped up from the ground and rushed over to Chandler, McNamara following suit “Shit’s going down out there. Kurt and Ram started a fight with someone and it’s taken over the whole bar,” 

Duke groaned and turned to McNamara. “You stay here OK? I need to deal with this bullshit at the moment,” “Just don’t kill anyone,” McNamara joked “Not making any promises,” Duke said before glancing at Chandler. “Mac can you find a patch or something for her head? She looks pretty out of it,” “I’m fine!” Chandler protested. “Yeah well I don’t need you getting in the way,” Duke snapped, and with that she spun round and walked out of the room and into the fray. 

In the bar, fists were flying and people were shouting. Duke even spotted a couple of people using furniture as weapons and as the feeling of rage started to well up inside of her, she grabbed her croquet mallet, jumped up on top of the bar and shouted “Alright then does anyone care to explain what in the name of god is going on in here? No one?” She jumped down from the bar top and surveyed the crowd in front of her with a glare. As if by magic, everyone stopped fighting upon hearing her voice and a number of them were now looking sheepishly at the ground. 

“I’m no expert but I’m fairly sure the bar rules say no brawls,” Duke growled “If you bastards want to murder each other, then you can go fuck around outside! Got it?” Duke had worked hard to install fear in almost everyone in the bar, most of them had felt the wrong end of her mallet and it was definitely worth the effort to have them listen to her like this. “Now can someone tell me who started this mess then, or am I going to have to kick all of you out?” 

“It was those three,” said a quiet voice Duke turned to look at Martha Dunnstock, one of her regulars. She was a round woman with her black hair in a plait down her back and she was pointing at Kurt, Ram and the man in the trench coat.  
“Thank you,” She said to Martha who nodded in response. “You three, out!” she snapped, pointing to the door with her mallet. 

Kurt and Ram sighed and left the bar while grumbling about finding another place to drink leaving the other man behind. He smiled at Duke before swiftly turning and leaving, the doors closing behind him. 

Duke looked around at everyone else. “OK you can all go back to your drink and anyone who broke furniture has to pay for it,” Everyone nodded and as conversation started to resume, Duke turned around with the intention of going to continue talking to McNamara but instead walked straight into Chandler, who was staring intently at the door. “That man,” She muttered. “The one in the trench coat, does he come here often?“ 

“I don’t know?” Duke said in annoyed confusion. “I don’t keep track of everyone that comes in here. Why?” “Just the case,” She tore her eyes away from the door to look at Duke who was glaring at her “Mac’s in the back, I need to continue following this son of a bitch,” Chandler said as she adjusted her hat before promptly walking out of the bar into the cold night without giving Duke a chance to answer. 

Once outside of the bar she barley glimpsed JD turn a corner and, desperately not wanting to lose track of him, she immediately took off after him. She ran to the end of the street and peeked around the corner before slowly following him. She was about to continue following him through the streets when she heard someone cry out. 

She turned around, confused as to where the noise was coming from and this time heard a distinct voice. “Help!” It seemed to be coming from an alleyway on the other side of the road. 

She glanced back at JD and watched him walk away for a second. She should follow JD but this woman…  
“Help me-,” Came the voice again except this time it was cut off by something, someone, even. She cursed under her breath before turning, running across the road and into the alleyway. 

In the alleyway there were no streetlights and she could barely see anything as she crept through the darkness and round a corner. Hearing the sound of scuffled footsteps, peeking around the edge of the wall to see a man pinning a woman against the wall with his hand over her mouth.  
“Stay still you little bitch,” He growled, leaning in closer. “Trust me, you don’t want to find out what happens if you don’t do what I say,” 

Chandler ducked back behind the wall just for a second to draw her pistol out of its holster and take a breath to calm her racing heart before standing out from behind the wall and aiming it at the man. 

“Alright dick for brains,” She said in a voice that sounded a lot calmer than she actually felt. “Step away from the girl, slowly ,and put your hands in the air”  
Hearing her voice the man twisted round so that he was holding the girl in front of him and laughed. “OK then girlie,” He said, clearly not taking the fact that he had a gun pointed at his face seriously “I somehow doubt that a pretty little thing like you even knows how to use that let alone have the balls to actually pull the trigger,” He shrugged “And even if you did shoot, you might hit her and I don't think you want to do that,” He gestured to the girl, who was sobbing with tears running down her cheeks. 

Chandler shuddered. The very sound of his voice made her skin crawl “Listen mate, how about you just let her go? Ideally I don’t want to have to shoot anyone but even if I do and I hit her? Well she’s got more of a chance of surviving than you as I would leave your sorry ass to bleed out in the dirt,” He laughed again. Something about the way Chandler sounded seemed to register inside of his skull that this woman wasn't to be messed with and so he said, “Well I don’t want to have to fight you and this seems to be more effort than it’s worth, so how about I let the girl go, safe and sound and you don’t shoot anyone? That way everyone’s happy,”  
Chandler considered her options for a moment. “OK that sounds good, so how are we going to do this?” “Chuck the gun away. Then I’ll-,” 

Chandler shot him in the foot and he let go of the girl as he fell to the floor “What the fuck!” he yelled. “You fucking shot my fucking foot!” “Shut up or I’ll shoot the other one,” Chandler growled as he howled in pain before she turned to the girl who was pressed up against the wall in wide eyed terror with silent tears smeared across her face. 

“Are you OK?” she asked cautiously, putting her gun back in its holster. “I- he- I-,” She said in between hurried breaths as she began to hyperventilate. “He tried to-,” She collapsed to the floor, a shaking mess and Chandler crouched down in front of her to do her best at comforting her.  
“Hey, hey listen you’re OK now,” She said as the man continued to whimper behind her. “I know what he was trying to do but you’re safe now. He’s not going to hurt you while I’m here,” The girl looked at Chandler out of the corner of her eye and glanced at the man who was clutching the mangled mess that was his foot and trying to shuffle away, before leaping into Chandlers arms and bawling into her shoulder. “Thank you,” She sobbed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Chandler, shocked from the sudden contact, raised her arms in surprise but quickly wrapped them around her and held her tightly. “You’re OK,” She whispered. “You’re OK now,” 

Kurt and ram stood outside of the bar, shivering and watched JD walk away. “That fucking Fag got us kicked out of the bar,” Kurt muttered as he raised a cigarette to his lips. “I that he could get what’s coming to him,” “maybe we can,” Ram said, gesturing to JD. “If we cut round behind the bar we can come out in front of him. If we get him into the alleys and beat some sense into him,” 

Kurt thought for a moment before replying with, “OK then,” Kurt threw his cigarette to the ground and stomped on it. “Let’s do it,”  
Kurt left to cut through the alleyway as Ram had suggested and just before Ram followed him, he glanced at JD who was halfway down the road and an evil smile crept across his face. 

The two of them travelled through the alleyways that at this point they knew like the back of their hands and they were about to jump out and drag JD into the dimly lit alley when he turned the corner and started walking down the alley himself 

“Shit,” Kurt said under his breath, pulling Ram behind a dumpster.  
“What’s this stupid fuck doing?” Ram hissed, “Why is he coming down the alleyway Kurt shrugged and peered over the top of the dumpster. “Looks like he’s… entering the sewers?” He stared at JD who was removing a manhole cover before climbing down.  
“The fag’s probably going to go and fuck his sewer boyfriend,” Ram chuckled. “Should we follow him?” “I don’t know… It seems a bit weird,” Kurt said. Something about this didn’t feel right to him 

“Don’t be a pussy,” said Ram, who walked over to the manhole cover and then turned to look Kurt. “Come on!” Kurt sighed and followed him over as Ram pulled the cover off of the hole.  
“Ladies first,” Ram said with a grin  
Kurt descended into the sewers while giving Ram the finger. Ram climbed down the ladder after him and pulled the cover back into place above them. There was a splash from below as Kurt dropped into the sewers and Ram, smiling to himself, dropped down to join Kurt. 

“Ugh,” Kurt muttered as Ram landed beside him. “It smells like somebody died down here,”  
“Never mind that. Let’s go,” Ram pointed down the sewer where they could faintly see a shadow wading through the muck ahead of them. “Time to give that faggot what he deserves,” 

They bumped fists before beginning to trek down the twisting sewer, trying their best to avoid the pileups of faeces along the way and after what felt like half an hour of only hearing each other’s footsteps, they started to hear noises, people talking, and saw a light at the end of the tunnel.  
As they walked towards it they began to see what was making the noises. The sewer wall had been smashed open, revealing a huge cavern, inside of which there were rows of benches with what Kurt and Ram would describe as ‘science shit’ stacked on top. 

Top of the range Bunsen burners and flasks of different sizes with bottles of powders and liquids were being kept in different places and at each workplace was a few workers mixing the chemicals to create god knows what. In the corner of the cavern was a balcony on which they could faintly see JD approaching and talking to a familiar figure, Mr McNamara.

Kurt glanced at Ram and could see the horror on his face. He and Ram had known him for years and he’d been like a father to Ram, encouraging him and helping him to get to where he was today. That was one of the reasons he wanted to marry Heather, so that he’d finally be a real part of the family.  
“What is this?” Ram whispered as they stared stared at the scene in front of them. “Why is Mr McNamara here?” “I- I don’t know,” Kurt glanced around the room. “I think it might be something to do with drugs,” “Drugs?” Ram stood up “Why is he involved with drugs?” He said as he took a few steps back, creating a loud splash. “Ram, be quiet! We can’t let them know that we’re-,” A bullet ricochet of the wall of the sewer, causing Kurt to falter in his words and look up at Mr McNamara who was staring at them and JD who was holding a smoking gun. 

“Get them!” Mr McNamara roared, causing people stationed at the edge of the room to draw pistols and start running towards them. “Shit!” Kurt yelled as he scrambled to his feet and grabbed Ram’s sleeve as he started to run. “Come on Ram, we need to go!”  
The two of them ran as fast as they could through the sewer, stumbling over the piles of muck in the water and they could almost see the place where they first entered when ram tripped and fell.  
“Ram? Ram wake up!” Kurt said as he skidded to a halt beside him before seeing that his friend had hit his head on a rock and was unconscious. Kurt stood up, barely processing what was happening and continued to run through the stinking water. 

He was painfully aware of his muscles beginning to tire and his pulse quickening as beads of sweat leaked from his forehead as he blundered blindly through the darkness almost tripping several times. Behind him he could hear the sound of voices and footsteps as well as the steady panting and occasional bark from dogs. His heart pounding, he finally found the ladder to the surface clambered upwards. Upon reaching the top, he tried to open the grate. He could hear the dogs barking at the bottom of the ladder as he fumbled with it, trying desperately to escape, he then felt heard voices, felt a hand close around his ankle and was pulled down into the darkness.


End file.
